


London Miracles

by roguelightning



Category: Miraculous Ladybug, Sanctuary (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-29
Updated: 2018-09-18
Packaged: 2019-01-26 09:13:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 8,402
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12554120
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/roguelightning/pseuds/roguelightning
Summary: Nikola clearly hadn't asked for this. As if his life wasn't complicated enough, he now had to deal with a pocket cat whose hobby seemed to be turning him into a superhero - with cat ears included. The whole thing was outrageous, and he wasn't sure the fact that he had to deal with an (arguably gorgeous) ladybug who was flirting with him was helping matters. Sanctuary/Miraculous Ladybug crossover set in 1888 London.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Translation into Русский available: [Чудеса в Лондоне](https://archiveofourown.org/works/15689952) by [Fandom_Sanctuary](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fandom_Sanctuary/pseuds/Fandom_Sanctuary), [Molly_Malone](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Molly_Malone/pseuds/Molly_Malone)



Working with Helen had made Nikola accustomed to enough things he would have never stomached if it wasn’t for her. Of course, he was in it for the science and not because he would have taken any chance to be next to her, even if it meant that he had to deal with a small sort of… cat, he supposed, who was flying around his laboratory.

It wasn’t his fault that this was happening, really. He had found a small, black box on his desk and of course he had to open it, without bothering to check first if it was safe or not. If Helen ever found about this, he was never going to hear the end of it.

“Don’t you have any food around here?” The creature had stopped for a second and was now watching him with an unimpressed look.

“Food?”

“Yes, food.” The creature said sarcastically. “You know, white, delicious, stinky stuff?”

“That’s what you eat?” Nikola asked on a disgusted tone. “Don’t have any, sorry.”

“Wrong answer.” The creature replied with a devilish grin. Before Nikola could stop him, he flew to one of his drawers and took a test tube in his tiny hands. “Not food.” He mused before letting it fall on the ground. “Still not food.” He said as he threw some more tubes on the ground. “Ooooh, this is shiny.” He next took a light bulb in his hands. “What does it-“ He began asking but Nikola cut him off by catching him in a jar.

“Right. Now, we can talk.” Nikola said as he sat down, jar still in his hands. “What are you again?”

“At the moment, I am really unhappy to be trapped, thank you very much.” The creature responded as he broke out of the jar, making it explode in tiny shards. “Right, that’s better.” He said as he dusted the glass off him. “Where were we? Oh, you were asking a lot of questions and not providing any food in return. But fine, have it your way. I am a Kwami. I grant special powers to people. Well, to one at a time, actually. And he or she has to have this.” The creature said as he showed Nikola a ring. “Here, put it on.”

“Will you leave my lab alone if I do?” Nikola asked as he did what the creature instructed. “Listen, I’m not the one you should talk to, but I have this friend who will know what to do with you.”

“I’m not going anywhere. Name’s Plagg, by the way. And I doubt this friend of yours would be able to help me anyway.”

“Oh you’re a plague alright.” Nikola muttered as he jumped after the Kwami, just in time to stop him from breaking another light bulb.

“Why thank you. Really, do you have to keep your things in such order? It’s depressing. All this order and no food.”

“I don’t eat. Well, not what you would consider food anyway. Get out of my lab until I show you the reason for that.”

“You have a temper alright.” The creature seemed amused now. “Well, it’s a bit misdirected, but I can definitely work with that. I am supposed to grant you the power of destruction, so yeah a bit of anger is just what I need. Huh. This looks nice.” Plagg said as he discovered a phonograph on one of the shelves. “I wonder if there is food in here.” He mused as he flew inside it. It took all of Nikola’s speed to get to it before it landed on the floor.

“There’s nothing useful in there, I assure you of that.” Nikola said as he placed the instrument carefully back on the shelf. Now get out before I get my claws out.”

“About bloody time.” The Kwami sighed as he let himself get sucked into the ring Nikola was wearing. It was only when he let his powers engulf Nikola that he felt it. A vampire, huh. As if it wasn’t enough that he had to move to London, of all places, now he had to deal with a vampire. That basically meant he had next to no chances of getting something edible in the near future. Just great.

This was energy like he had never felt before, Nikola thought. It started from where the ring came in contact with his skin and spread to his whole body from there, dressing him in some kind of… he supposed suit would have been the best word for it, even if the trousers were a bit too tight for his taste. He liked the waistcoat, though, and he had to admit that the baton was a nice touch to it. Well, there was something interesting to this whole thing, he mused as he drew his hand through his hair. Wait. Were those cat ears? He rushed to the mirror, cursing silently. He was so not going to work with that, he decided as he tried to remove the stupid ears off his head, to no avail. Settling on hiding the ears under a hat he had found in his lab, he went out to get Helen. After all, she was probably the only one who could help him at the time.

Whatever the creature had in store for them, he was definitely not interested, he decided as he ran on the corridors of the University, trying to avoid any curious looks. While it was late at night and the mask he had on had a chance of hiding him from anyone he knew, the damn tail was bound to get a lot of unwanted attention. He wasn’t really watching where he was going, so it was really no surprise that he bumped into a woman, knocking her down. He got back on his feet and tried to get away from there as fast as he could, but the lady caught him by the tail, immobilizing him.

“Where do you think you’re going, kitty?” The woman asked as she got back on her feet. It was then when he noticed her outfit. The crimson dress she was wearing was the kind that would have got any woman in trouble at that time, if only for the fact that it seemed to hug her figure in all the right places. However, this was not what got his attention. It wasn’t even the black polka dots that were all over her dress. What he noticed first was the lady’s eyes, barely covered by the mask she was wearing, a mask very much like his own. The light was dim so he couldn’t quite figure their color, but he was pretty sure that she had blue eyes, a shade of blue that reminded him of Helen’s eyes, somehow.

“You must be my partner.” The woman said. “Tikki mentioned you. My Kwami?” She added when she saw his surprised look.

“You got one too?” Nikola asked. So this wasn’t an isolated incident. He made a mental note to tell Helen all about this later.

“I did, yes.” The lady answered with a smile. “Come, we have a lot to talk about.” She said as she offered him her arm. “You can call me Ladybug, by the way.” And, as Nikola followed the mysterious lady into the unknown, he found himself thinking that maybe there was bound to be something interesting about this thing after all. He was still going to get rid of the ears, though.

 


	2. Chapter 2

“Are you sure this is the best place we can talk?” Nikola asked incredulously. Somehow, the idea of him having a night late chat with a mysterious woman on the roof of the University didn’t seem like the best idea.

“Well if you have any other ideas-“  The woman suggested. “Wait a minute. I have to check something.” She said as she took his hat off. “I knew it.” She let out a small laugh at that. “Cat ears, huh. I wonder if you’d purr if I scratched you behind them.”

“That won’t be necessary.” Nikola spat back as he snatched the hat from her hands, putting it back on. “You seem to be a lot more comfortable with this than I am.”

“Well really, what’s not to love?” The woman replied excitedly. “You get superpowers, you get to save the day, I mean sure there are restrictions and all like your powers burning off and all. I’m sure you know about that, anyway.”

“I don’t.” Nikola muttered. “That little critter got me to transform before I could ask him too much. He kept saying he wanted food.”

“Plagg. Tikki mentioned him.” Ladybug grinned. “She also said he can be a bit of a pain in the ass but on the other side he is too bloody cute to be mad at him.”

“He didn’t seem cute to me when he trashed down half of my la- of my room.”

“Tikki also said he tends to choose people that are just like him. I guess she was right with that too.” Ladybug replied and Nikola was thankful she missed his little slip about having a laboratory. This woman knowing his identity was the last thing he needed.

“The pain in the ass part or the bloody cute one?” The words got out before he could stop them.

“I haven’t decided yet. But you don’t seem too much of a bother, I mean you like this way less than you should, but other than that…”

“I have cat ears.” Nikola muttered. “I had a life before this, you know.”

“Well nobody says you have to give that up. The transformation is a completely reversible process.”

“So it has an off switch?”

“Of course. Just like it has an on switch, which you probably hit accidentally since you don’t seem to remember asking your Kwami to turn you. Think about it. What was the last thing you told him before you got transformed?”

“Well I told him to stop destroying my room and threatened him that I will get my claws out if he doesn’t.”

“Get your claws out, huh?” Ladybug seemed amused by the thought. “That makes sense, actually. You should say the opposite of that to go back to your normal self, then.”

“So what, claws-“ Nikola started to say but she stopped him, putting a finger over his lips. “Now now. We wouldn’t like you to reveal your secret identity to me, would we? Besides, I’m pretty sure I’d like you a lot more with the ears than without them.”

“Are you always this forward with men you’ve just met?”

“I’m sorry if I happen to think that a woman can damn well be whatever she pleases.” She snapped, her tone ice cold now.  “Tell me now if you disagree because I honestly don’t see myself working with anybody who does.”

“I didn’t mean it like that.” Nikola said defensively. “I guess I just… never mind.”

“What?”

“I can’t answer that. Nothing personal, really.” He added when he saw her look. “But if I told you I am gorgeous without the ears and that makes pretty much every girl swoon over me except the one that I really want to, well. That would mean giving you too much info.”

“And why is that?”

“My lady, we’re in England.” Nikola said with a grin. “It’s not like there are too many gorgeous guys around here.” She laughed at that, her anger from before quickly dissipating.

“So, this woman you like. Are you sure she’s not giving you any attention?”

“She’s engaged.” Nikola muttered. “With a dickhead, no less.”

“Well maybe you should let her see you in the suit, then. Who knows, maybe she’ll like you a lot more then.”

“So this is why you enjoy it so much? You want to make men swoon over you and you think the dress helps?”

“That was only advice for you, kitty.” Ladybug smiled sadly. “For me it’s more like an escape.”

“Something that allows you to be free, then. I guess that makes sense, yes.”

“We’ll leave it at that.” Ladybug agreed. It wasn’t like telling him that she saw this more of an evening the odds sort of thing, something like karma coming back to fix the fact that she had been the only one of the Five who got turned into something… more than before, so to speak, was an option. Before she could say anything else, though, they were interrupted by someone screaming not far away.

“Come on, kitty. That is our cue to leave.” She said as she stood up, dusting off her dress. “Come, kitty, let’s go save the day.” She added when she saw Nikola wasn’t moving. Without waiting for him, she threw her yoyo away, jumping to the nearest building.

This was definitely not his method of choice for moving around, Nikola decided as he struggled to keep up the pace with her. Still, he used his baton to land as gracefully as he could after each jump, grateful of the fact that she didn’t seem overly impressed with the fact that he was able to drop more than 100 feet and still land on his feet.

“Back up.” She whispered when he finally reached her. She grabbed his tail and pulled him behind a stone wall, signaling him to keep quiet. “There.” Ladybug said as she pointed in front of her.

“Is that-“ Nikola asked when he saw the creature she was pointing at. It looked like a lion of sorts, expect for the fact that he had the face of a sad, old man. He also seemed to have been made of stone, as if one of the gargoyles on the tower had just come to life.The young woman he had cornered seemed too terrified to move, as the beast was approaching her closely.

“I’ll distract him, you get the girl.” Ladybug whispered, and, before Nikola could stop her, she got out of her hiding place.

“What the bloody hell, Bill?” She asked on an unamused tone.  “I thought we had agreed upon the fact that young girls are off limits.” The creature stopped at that, seemingly deciding that the young woman wasn’t worthy of its attention anymore. Instead, he turned to the other woman, growling menacingly. At this, Nikola took the opportunity to grab the young woman and run away with her, getting her out of the creature’s way. This seemed to get the creature’s attention, who turned at him for a second, before Ladybug threw her yo-yo at him, hitting it in his head.

“He’s off limits too, Bill.” It was the last thing she was able to say before the creature leaped at her, throwing her on the ground and immobilizing her.

“Hey, stone face!” Nikola shouted, trying to get his attention, but to no avail.

“Use your power!” Ladybug shouted, trying to make herself heard over the creature’s growls. “Just say <<Cataclysm>>, it will give you the power to destroy anything you touch.”

“Got it.” Nikola said as he did what she asked. As soon as the word left his lips, he saw a black fog clouding his right hand. The sensation was completely foreign to him. He had controlled electricity before, but this felt like the opposite of it. While electricity was warm and comforting, this was cold and threatening. So that was what power of destruction felt like, he mused as he ran towards the creature, his hand risen in the air.

“No, not him!” Ladybug shouted, stopping him in his place. “Don’t hurt him!” She managed to free her right hand and threw her yo-yo to a nearby pillar, getting out of the creature’s grasp. As soon as she was safe, Nikola used his power on a nearby wall, making it collapse and trap the creature underneath it.

“Don’t hurt him? Bill?” He asked on an incredulous voice. “What the hell, Ladybug?”

“He’s a nice guy, normally.” Ladybug explained as she threw her yo-yo in the air. “Lucky Charm!” She shouted and soon enough a whistle dropped in her hand.

“He doesn’t look nice to me.” Nikola said, pointing at the creature in front of them who was trying to free himself from the rubble.

“Nonsense.” Ladybug grinned as she started playing the whistle. It seemed to calm the creature, which soon enough curled in a sleeping position and started to snore. “I told you Bill is a good guy.” Ladybug said with a smile. “Music calms him, apparently.”

“How do you know that, exactly?”

“Long story.” She answered dismissively. “We do make a good team, after all, right kitty?” She asked and Nikola couldn’t help nodding in return. “I’ll have to go now, though. Using our powers weakens our Kwamis and they can’t keep the sym- the transformation on for too long.”

“At least I’ll get rid of the ears.” Nikola muttered, but he seemed less annoyed about them now.

“Be sure to feed your Kwami, he’ll need his strength back.” Ladybug added. “See you around, kitty.” She said and she left, leaving Nikola alone in the dark, smiling despite himself. Maybe they weren’t such a bad team after all. He still had to tell Helen about this, though. At least the part with mysterious creatures roaming around Oxford at night. Him not included, of course.

 


	3. Chapter 3

“He’s cute.” the Kwami chirped on a delighted tone, earning herself a glare from the woman who was currently holding her in her palm.

“I’m engaged, Tikki.” Helen protested.

“Is that English for he’s not cute?” Tikki giggled. “Because otherwise, I didn’t hear you disagree with me.”

“Oh, shut up.” She did not need this, not now. She didn’t need to think how good of a team they made, how he listened to her advice without complaining a little bit, without being thrown off by the fact that she was a woman. And she certainly did _not_ need to remember how good he had looked in that suit.

“Any idea who he is?” Helen asked. “I know I’m not supposed to know.” she added when she saw Tikki’s look. “But you were the one who chose me as Ladybug, so you should have figured I won’t like someone having powers without me knowing everything about them.”

“Knowing Plagg, he’s probably a pain in the ass.” Tikki laughed. “He always picks them like that. Cute but a real pain in the ass. Just like him.”

“Huh. That explains a lot.” Helen said with a smirk. “You’re the one with a crush on Plagg and you’re projecting it on me.”

“That’s ridiculous.” Tikki protested. “We’re just very good friends. He does have good taste in picking people, you have to give him that.”

“We have a problem.” James said as he stormed in, barely giving Helen the time to cover Tikki with her hat.

“I thought we were the only five around here who were special.” James sighed as he indicated an article in the newspaper.

“Mysterious woman saves young girl from supposed gargoyle attack.” Helen read out loud, just before Nikola ran and snatched the newspaper from her hand. “I can explain.” He stuttered as he fought to regain his breath.

“Explain what, Nikola?” Helen asked, raising her eyebrow.

“A terrible accident had been avoided last night, when a woman wearing a ladybug dressed supposedly saved a girl from a gargoyle attack.” Nikola read. “The young girl swears a statue attacked her and that the woman calmed the statue by singing to it.” he continued. “Right then, it seems there’s nothing to explain.” He said, attempting to hide the relief in his voice. The newspaper had decided to ignore that there had also been a man dressed as a cat nearby, apparently. It was ridiculous, but he was feeling a bit jealous for that. Still, that wasn’t something to discuss with Helen, not while the others were around. “Bill attacked a young girl, not to mention this woman knew how to tame a gargoyle.” James pointed out. “It appears we have competition.”

“Oh I would hardly call it that.” Nikola argued. “She’s probably just someone who thought it would be fun playing vigilante for a night or two.”

“Or, she found herself with a new set of powers and she decided she should use them to do good.” Helen stepped in, right before being swooped in someone’s arms. She resisted the contact for a bit, but then relented, despite herself.

“And here I was thinking there was only one woman around causing trouble.” John whispered in her ear.

“She’s not making any trouble, Johnny boy.” Nikola glared at him. “I do tend to think Helen is right, actually. She probably wanted to test out her new powers and decided that a gargoyle is a good place to start.”

“What is it with women getting powers lately?” John asked, earning himself a glare from Helen. “I’m not saying they don’t deserve it, love, but you’ve seen that we have enough problems with our powers as it is, especially some of us.” he said, throwing Nikola a side glance. “I can hardly imagine how a woman would deal with such thing.”

“A lot better than you are, that’s for sure.” Nikola muttered. “I didn’t see you do anything useful since you can teleport.”

“Right, because not sucking people dry is very useful.” John spat back at him.

“Would you want me to show you what it would be like if I stopped doing that? Although, forget it, if I am to suck anyone, I’m certainly not starting with you.”

“Gentlemen, please.” Helen stepped between them. “I don’t think this Ladybug is our problem, at least not for now. We should still keep an eye on her and on other people like her if any show up. I wouldn’t like this vigilante thing becoming a trend.”

“Agreed. I’ll try to ask around, see if anyone else has seen her.” James offered.

“Good idea.” Helen smiled at him. “John, he can cover a lot more space if you help him. I’ll join you two in a moment, I just need a bit to gather my things.” she added when she saw his look. With a sigh, John left, not before placing a kiss on her lips, his eyes not leaving Nikola as he did so. It made the vampire want to rip his head off. The Englishman had somehow figured he was in love with Helen – a bit of an alarming thought, really, considering the fact that John wasn’t normally too smart – and he seemed to do anything in his power to remind him that Helen belonged to him. It was pointless, really, because one, if he had really known her, he would have realized she didn’t belong to anyone, especially not to him, and two, they were engaged anyway so it wasn’t like Nikola could do anything about it. It didn’t change the fact that it made him wish John all kinds of painful deaths.

“Alright, Nikola, spill it.” Helen said as they were left alone. “What do you know about this Ladybug?” There was something odd in her voice, something he couldn’t quite place. If he hadn’t known better he would have said it was fear, but that was ridiculous. The little bug was more cute than dangerous. He quickly weighed his options. One was telling her the whole truth, but that meant also telling her about Plagg, not to mention breaking his promise to Ladybug. It was true that he had only known her for one night, but she did save his life, so he figured he could at least keep her secret safe. But then again, lying to Helen was not an option. So he settled for telling only a little part of the truth.

“She doesn’t work alone.” Nikola said. “You know me, I’m not a big fan of sleeping.” he explained. “I may have followed her last night. There’s this guy who works with her, I have no idea why he didn’t get in the newspapers too, I mean from where I was standing he played a very important role in saving that girl.”

“So, two bugs?” Helen asked, a smile playing on her lips. So Nikola had followed them last night. Ah well, she supposed it could have been worse. At least he had had the decency not to meddle in their business.

“No, the other one looks like a cat. He even has ears and all, and he was wearing a black suit.”

“And you said he helped Ladybug save that girl, didn’t you?” Helen asked. “He seems like a nice guy. Pretty hot, even, with that suit.”

“That’s ridiculous, you don’t even think-“ Nikola said on a dismissive tone. Only he knew that twinkle in her eyes a bit too well. She had really meant it. Well, this could prove to be interesting after all…


	4. Chapter 4

If there had been a list of things she was not supposed to do, going out as Ladybug ago would have probably been on top of that list, especially given the fact that they had been spotted. She didn’t worry about Nikola, not really – something told her that, even if he had known the truth, he wouldn’t have been against the idea of her being Ladybug – but the others finding out would have meant publicity, unwanted one at that. She shrugged that thought off. As far as she could tell, the suit didn’t come off that easily, and as long as nobody knew how to turn the transformation off, all she had to worry about was Tikki running out of power. Or at least that is what she had thought until she her kitty stormed in her laboratory.

“You’re Dr. Magnus, right?” the man asked her, a smile playing on his lips. It made Tikki’s words about him being too cute for his own good make a lot of sense, Helen thought.

“Depends on who’s asking.” Helen smiled back. “Normally, I would assume you’re looking for my father.”

“Forgive me, my lady.” the man said, taking a bow. “I forgot my manners. You can call me Mau. Black Mau, if you want to be more specific.” This got a laugh from her. “So basically your name is black cat? I’m a bit disappointed.”

“Well, I suppose we could arrange that.” Black Mau said, closing the distance between them. “You know what English people say about roses and their scent and all.”

“That won’t be necessary.” Helen protested. Ladybug totally had to have a talk with him about disclosing your secret identity to complete strangers, that was for sure. “You said you were looking for my father, Mr. Black?”

“I didn’t.” Black Mau smiled. “You see, word around here is that you deal with… strange things, so to speak.”

“Word around here?”

“I’m a gentleman, I don’t disclose my sources.”

“So the sources that say my father is a crazy man and that I should be working on finding a husband instead of following his madness-“

“Are obviously misleading and I want nothing to do with them.” Black Mau said on a final note. “I believe these sources also would say that if I were to seek help I should address your father, and yet here I am.”

“So you trust a woman more than a man? That is new around here. Unless you just want a cute doctor, that is.” His grin grew at that, taking an almost predatory edge. “My lady, from where I am standing, the issue is rather simple. I have found myself in a rather… peculiar situation, so to speak, and I wish to learn more about it, so I figured you and I could do a bit of science together. That and I am a very difficult patient, so I want someone who can put up with that. Gregory doesn’t fit the profile.”

“And I do?”

“We’ll see about that now, won’t we?”

“Alright, have it your way. How did this happen, exactly?”

“Well I don’t know the specifics, but from what I gathered there is this creature called a Kwami that activates the process. It enters a ring and then it just… spreads through my body and creates the costume I’m in.”

“And obviously creates extra limbs in the process, too.” Helen noted as she snatched the hat off his head. She ran her fingers over his ears, a smile playing on her lips. “I assume you didn’t have these before.”

“No, and honestly, Dr. Magnus, if you want to make me purr… That is one way to do it, but it definitely isn’t the most interesting one.”

“It also makes you exhibit cat-like tendencies, it seems.” Helen replied absent-mindedly. This was something she had to consider. Purring was one thing, but what did ladybugs do? She made a mental note to check that later. I’ll need to take a sample of your suit.” she said and, before he had to chance to protest, she took his hand in her own and made a small cut in his palm.

“The texture of this thing is remarkable.” she noted as she put the sample under the microscope. “Looks like fabric, but it is way more resilient.”

“So I get you haven’t seen anything like this before?”

“I’m afraid not, no.” Helen admitted.

“I’ll ask Ladybug for a sample of her suit too, maybe bring her to you.” Black Mau offered. “She’s my partner, or so she says. I don’t know how willing she’ll be to work with you, but I will try and convince her. We need to get to the bottom of this.”

“I agree. But you’re more than enough for now, trust me. Speaking of which, I’ll also need a sample of your blood.”

“About that-“ Black Mau began to protest, but they were interrupted by a girl that was screaming outside. “I have to go, my lady. Someone might be in danger. We’ll continue this as soon as possible.” he said and, with these words, he jumped out the window. The second he was out of her view, she put on her earrings. “Tikki, spots on!” she screamed and followed him.

He ran towards the screaming as fast as he could, using his baton to guide his movements. He was starting to get the hang of this, he thought as he jumped from building to building, and, soon enough, he noticed a yoyo flying next to him.

“You couldn’t sleep either, kitty?” Ladybug asked him with a smile.

“Actually, I was seeing someone when I heard the screaming.” Black Mau admitted. “I think it came from there.”

“Seeing, as in you were having a romantic encounter?”

“Does it still count if the woman I was having the encounter with had no idea that was the case?”

“It might, if the woman is interested.” Ladybug said, a wistful smile playing on her lips. Said smile died soon enough, though, as soon as she saw the dark figure looming over the girl. The man had his back turned at her, so she couldn’t see his face, but he appeared to hold a knife at the girl’s throat.

“Stop right there!” Ladybug shouted, but the man didn’t respond to that. “Drop the knife, and let her go.”

“Listen, man, some of us actually have lives here, me included.” Black Mau yelled at him when he still gave no answer. “Actually, I was seeing a very hot doctor when you decided to play killer and all, and honestly I am not in the mood for that, so if you could just-“ the man stopped at that, as if he was considering Black Mau’s words. Soon enough, however, he ran away. Ladybug rushed to the girl immediately, cradling her in her arms.

“She’ll be fine, kitty, go get him.” she reassured Black Mau as she took a look at the girl’s wound. It wasn’t too deep, luckily and the killer had failed to hit any major blood vessels. By the time her partner got back, she had used her Lucky Charm to summon a dressing she pressed on the wound in order to stop the bleeding.

“I couldn’t get him.” Mau sighed. “It’s like he vanished into thin air. She looks like she could use a doctor though.”

“I agree. Find James Watson, wake him up if necessary, I don’t care, tell him it’s an emergency.” Ladybug instructed. “I would do it myself, but my transformation is running off and-“

“I’ll take care of it.” Black Mau reassured her. “I know just the doctor to see her.” he said, taking the girl in his arms and running off with her. As soon as he left, Helen rushed to her laboratory. She had a hunch her kitty wasn’t exactly going to trust James for this…


	5. Chapter 5

“First the gargoyle, and now this?” Helen asked as she rushed to clear the table in her laboratory, allowing Black Mau to place the unconscious girl on it. “If I didn’t know better I’d say bad luck tends to follow you and your partner.”

“Plagg did mention something about this, actually.” he muttered, and Helen could have sworn there was a tinge of sadness in his voice. “But life has taught me that whatever people see as dark… well, it can be kind of awesome from time to time, so there is that I suppose.”

“So you’d say you’re darkness put to good use?”

“I can be, if I want to, yes.”

“You know, I have a friend just like you.” Helen mused absent-mindedly as she rummaged through her things for a bottle of smelling salts. “He got into a bit of… well, trouble, most people would say, and he became… more than he was actually, but-“

“But it’s not necessarily a good thing?” Black Mau offered.

“More like people don’t like what he became, actually.”

“And you do?”

“Funny thing is, I was the one who got him in said trouble.” Helen admitted, a sad smile playing on her lips. “He never blamed me for it and he actually seems to enjoy it, but I’m not sure I did him a favor in the end.”

“I find it hard to believe that you could bring pain in someone’s life, really.” Black Mau said with a smile. “And I’m sure that your friend is grateful that you’ve always been close to him and helped him with this… new thing he has.”

“I suppose so, yes.” Helen sighed. “Now, fill me in on this girl. What happened to her?”

“Honestly? No idea. Ladybug and I stopped a guy from killing her, but other than that… I tried to catch the guy, but he was too fast and I lost him, and when I got back to my partner… She handed me the girl and told me to get her to James Watson.”

“And yet you’re here.” Helen noted.

“Well you were closer?” Black Mau answered. “Actually, no. It’s just that… I don’t know who my partner is and how well acquainted she is with the doctors around here, but I know who the best one is and I can tell you for sure it’s not Watson, so yeah.”

“I suspect that was not the reason she told you to seek James.” Helen said as she propped the girl’s head up, allowing her to smell the salts. It seemed to have worked, because the girl was slowly regaining her senses.

“Your partner did a very good job with stopping the bleeding, though.” Helen said as she checked the girl’s wounds.

“Yeah, I was pretty impressed by that too.” Black Mau admitted. “I think you two could actually get along pretty well, if it wasn’t for the obvious issue.”

“Which is?”

“Both of you feeling a bit attracted to me, of course.” he said with a wink. “By the way, has anyone told you that you look simply gorgeous when you’re blushing?” His tail encircled her legs at that, pulling her closer to him, something which he wasn’t exactly sure he had intended, but the damn tail seemed to have a mind of its own.

“It’s dark in here.” she said, her voice way more husky than she would have intended.

“Cat, remember? I can see in the dark.”

“Control your tail, Mr. Black.”  Helen said on a tone she hoped was cold enough.

“Right. That… I wasn’t exactly planning it, to be quite honest.” At least he had the decency to pretend to be flustered, she thought.

“Where am I?” The young girl on her table asked as she woke up.

“You’re in my laboratory.” Helen answered on a reassuring tone. “You’ve been attacked, but this gentleman right here and his partner saved you and brought you to me.”

“There was a man-“ the girl said as she touched her neck. She looked like she was trying to remember the events from that night, albeit with little success.

“You’re in shock at the moment, probably. Don’t worry, it will come back to you.” Helen tried to calm her. “What is your name?”

“Mary, madam. I’m a scullery maid here. It was my first day, actually.”

“I see. And what is your real name, then?” Helen asked as she took the girl’s hand into her own.

“Isabel, madam.” The girl said with a small smile. “I was told I won’t be using it too much around here, however.”

“You’ll find out that there are a lot of rules here, mostly stupid. You don’t need to heed them all, however. I would know that.”

“Speaking of that, it was a bit late for you to be roaming about the yard, though.” Black Mau interfered. “What were you doing up this late?”

“Mr. Black.” Helen said on a warning tone.

“I’m not suggesting she’s at fault for being attacked, if this is your concern.” he said on a diplomatic tone. “It’s just that, if she was meeting someone, they’re pretty high on our suspect list, wouldn’t you agree?”

“ _Our_ suspect list, Mr. Black?” Helen asked and the man offered a smirk in response.

“Why yes, I’m conducting an investigation here and you agreed to help me, at least as far medical details go.”

“We’ll discuss the details of my implication lately.” Helen said with a sigh. “I hate to say that, but Mr. Black here is right. Were you meeting somebody?”

“There’s this student here.” Isabel said with a sigh. “He… he was supposed to meet with me, but I guess he was late, and then this other man appeared.”

“The other man?”

“The one who attacked me, madam.”

“Call me Helen, please. Did you get a good look at his face?”

“I’m afraid I didn’t, madam. He was tall, I can tell you that, but he was wearing a hat and it was too dark for me to see anything.”

“And you’ve never seen him before?” Black Mau asked.

“No, Sir. But, as I told you, I’m new here. I barely know my master.”

“And a certain gentleman caller that also happens to be a student here, I gather.”

“It was very stupid of me, Sir, I know that. I told Michael not to tell anybody we were meeting, but he obviously didn’t listen to me.”

“Why do you say that?”

“The man who attacked me knew I was meeting with someone, madam.” Isabel said, her voice trembling. “He called me awful things, said something about me overstepping my boundaries, and then he pulled a sword from his cane and-“ She wasn’t able to finish the sentence, because her voice broke in sobs.

“It’s alright, he can’t hurt you anymore.” Helen reassured her as she took her in her arms. “You were actually lucky, you know. The cut on your neck should heal in a few days. It probably won’t even leave any scars.”

“It’s only my fault.” the girl sniffled. “I shouldn’t have agreed to meet him, I was supposed to be in bed by 10 pm. My master will kill me if he hears about this.”

“Well, I believe I could fix that.” Black Mau offered. “After all, I’m pretty sure he doesn’t need to find out about this. I doubt your attacker will tell him anything about it, and Miss Magnus here will surely keep quiet too.”

“Of course.” Helen said with a smile. “Whatever happens between me and my patients is strictly confidential.”

“Patients?” The girl seemed confused now.

“I’m some sort of a doctor, actually.” Helen explained. “Your secret is safe with us, don’t worry. I’ll have Mr. Black here escort you to your room, just in case whoever attacked you decides to try again. I’d also like to check up on you the following days, if that is alright with you. We could tell your master that you have a sore neck and you need to tend to. Just make sure you keep the bandages on.”

“Don’t overdo it, though.” Black Mau grinned at her. “We wouldn’t want anybody to think you were bitten by a vampire or something.”

“Don’t be ridiculous!” Helen scoffed. “There’s no such thing as vampires, especially not in this area.” she denied as fast as she could. “On second thought, Mr. Black here is right, no need to have that sort of rumors around here. Just make sure she gets to her chambers, alright?” she asked as she led them both to the door.

“You and Black Mau work really well together.” Tikki said, emerging from one of her drawers, as soon as they were left alone.

“It would be easier if he wasn’t so flirty, though.”

“He can’t help it, actually.” The little bug chirped as she flew around. “The thing with you two is that you’re like two sides of the same coin, and well. You’re bound to be attracted to each other, really.”

“I’m engaged, Tikki.” Helen protested. She felt the air move around her and she reacted as fast as she could, shoving the little bug back inside her drawers just before John materialized a her behind and took her in his arms.

“I thought you were supposed to be asleep at this time, Helen.” He said as he massaged her shoulders.

“I had a patient.” Helen sighed. “A girl was attacked by some sort of mad man, I suppose. If it wasn’t for that vigilante cat roaming around here, she would have been dead.”

“You mean that guy wearing the cat mask Tesla mentioned today?”

“That’s the one. He and his partner managed to come just in time to save her.”

“How… fortunate, indeed." John said as he turned her around and his lips met hers.


	6. Chapter 6

“For the last time, James, I do not require your assistance in treating him.” Helen sighed as she led James to Isabel’s quarters. “I don’t even know if I have something to treat in the first place, to be honest. We are merely discussing options at the moment.”

“I’m just not comfortable with the idea of you meeting up with a vigilante at night, that is all.” James defended himself. “And to be quite honest, I’m not sure John would appreciate it too much either.”

“Which is why we’re not going to tell him anything about it.” Helen said with a smile. After all, there was that little thing with doctor-patient confidentiality, and she wasn’t sure Black Mau would have appreciated her breaking that rule. Not to mention that if John had seen them interacting, he could have got some crazy ideas and she didn’t have the mood to deal with that sort of thing at the moment.

“Were you able to determine anything about that suit he has?”

“I didn’t have the time to run any tests on it, no. He seems to think it is created by a creature that morphs into it and spreads throughout his body, but I’m not 100% sure about that theory.”

“This means he looks normal when he’s not in contact with the creature then.”

“It seems so, yes.” Helen agreed.

“What about his partner? The ladybug?”

“She seems to work by the same principles, scientifically speaking. I didn’t get a chance to talk to her, but as soon as I do we’ll see if that theory is confirmed.”

“It’s funny, isn’t it?”

“What?”

“One, the guy knows you, or at least his normal self does, otherwise he would have never contacted you. As you told him, your father would have been a much better option. No offense, of course.”

“None taken.” Helen said with a smile, but it didn’t reach her eyes.

“Two, he seems to trust this ladybug friend of his, even listens to her, at least during battle- she told him to follow the mysterious guy, and he did, told him to get the girl to safety, and he did… And yet, she hasn’t come to contact you yet. Which means either she sent him to you first to test the grounds, so to speak, or that she doesn’t like you that much and he knows it.”

“She seems more of a one woman show, so I’d be more inclined to believe in the second theory. They do make a pretty good team, though. The girl had been stable when he got her to me, which considering the state she was in… it was something.”

“You said she didn’t see the guy who attacked her?”

“No, it was too dark for that. But this is why I asked you to come with me this time, I was hoping you could ask her some questions, see if she remembers anything else.”

“I will do my best.” James said as he knocked at Isabel’s door. “Isabel? I’m Helen, we met last night.” Helen called. “I brought a friend with me, he wants to ask you a few questions, if you don’t mind.” she said, but there was no answer.

“It’s too late for her to be sleeping, don’t you think?” James asked.

“I agree. Perhaps we should get in, check if she’s safe.” Helen suggested, but the door was locked.

“Way ahead of you.” James said as he broke in. It seemed they had got there too late, however. All that was left of her was a maimed corpse, lying in the bed in a pool of blood. Her body was littered with stab wounds, from her neck to her torso and abdomen. Her skirt had been lifted above her knees, exposing her legs. The killer had stabbed those too, leaving a trail of wounds up to her pelvis.

“Was she-“ Helen asked, her voice small as she pointed to her skirt.

“It’s too early to say, but if I were to take a bet, I would say she wasn’t raped, no.” James said. “Except for the wounds on her legs, there are no bruises, so she didn’t struggle.”

“That or she was dead at the time.” Helen said as she approached the body, her voice regaining strength now. “I would say the stab wound in her neck was the one that killed her, and the rest were inflicted afterwards.”

“That would be my guess too.” James agreed. “The pattern of the stabbings is erratic, suggesting that the killer was in a fit of rage when he inflicted them on the victim.”

“The bastard took his time with this, didn’t he?” Helen sighed as she counted the wounds on her body. “He doesn’t seem to have any medical training, however.” she said as she pointed at some of the wounds. “See? Here, here and here. He didn’t hit any vital organs.”

“Missed them by very little, though.” James pointed out.

“Still not a mistake someone who is studying medicine would do, however.” Helen argued.

“This reminds me of a case I had in London a few weeks ago.” James said. “Martha Tabram. The pattern of the stabbings is similar. It’s probably just a coincidence, however. The main suspect in this case is pretty obvious.”

“You think whoever she was meeting last night did it.”

“Actually, no. Think about it, Helen. The girl was attacked by a man she didn’t know last night. The door to her bedroom is untouched. A woman in her state wouldn’t have opened the door to a complete stranger, wouldn’t you think?”

“Of course, which is why-“

“This however sounds a great deal like the killer wanting to finishing his job, but she was pretty clear about the fact that she didn’t know her attacker.” James continued. “Helen, there is only one man who she would have trusted enough last night to open the door for him, one that she hadn’t known before.”

“I don’t see where you’re going with this.”

“If she thought that cat had saved her life, she would have trusted him, right? Actually, forget that, there was no need for her to trust him in the first place. You sent him with her, all he had to do was wait until she got inside the bedroom and-“

“No.” Helen shook her head. “It wasn’t him, James, I know it.”

“I’m just saying that he’s our prime suspect at the moment.” James shrugged. “Think about it, Helen, it all fits. You never talked to Ladybug, so the only one that said there was an attacker was Mr. Black, correct? The only things you know are that he came to you in the middle of the night, claiming there was an attacker that he had somehow stopped- an attacker that he conveniently failed to catch, by the way-“

“Why stop her bleeding in the first place, then? Why not just let her die then and there? There was no need to get me involved.”

“Because Ladybug caught him, probably, and he somehow managed to convince her he just found the girl like that.”

“That is not how it hap- how I think it happened.” Helen amended. “I don’t think Ladybug is so easily fooled.”

“She is if he has her wrapped around his finger, like he has you.” James argued, earning himself a glare from her. “What? Helen, you’re defending a man you barely know, it’s obvious you have a thing for him.”

“Nonsense.”

“Well, I’m sorry, but until we find any evidence to point the contrary, he’s our prime suspect.” James concluded, ignoring her protests. Very well then, she decided. She was going to have a talk with him and that was going to clear matters. Or rather, Ladybug was.


End file.
